Madagascar still has a great many species endemic to their island. However, scores of them have become extinct already or are currently endangered. This Earth cannot afford to have its biodiversity assaulted endlessly. We must respect and appreciate the far-reaching negative impacts and consequences of doing so. A vital effort to halt further deforestation and loss of habitat was supposedly ongoing in Madagascar. The country has lost about 90% of their forests yet still valuable species of trees such as rosewood are being harvested for commercial reasons. Many species are moving upslope to cooler, more virgin territory as a consequence of loss of habitat and global warming. We suggest that tourism is more important to their economy than perceived gains due to numbskulls who clear, cut or burn forest so they can sell more wood or charcoal.

Densely populated areas like Antananarivo are very polluted from discharge of raw sewage into water, and sanitation is a big issue, teetering on becoming a monstrous issue. We think that even though Madagascar is vast compared to many other countries, they should make a concerted effort to reduce their population growth to much less than 3% per year. We strongly recommend they follow a course of development like Gabon and the Congo's because Madagascar is a large, strategically and ecologically very important nation. We do not think natural resources such as coal, chromite or tar sands are worth developing. Hopefully, as an alternative for industrial development, more money can be put into green, renewable energy sources. Having hydropower already for two-thirds of electricity production provides a promising foundation. Property proximate to the ocean in cities such as Toamasina face the ongoing prospect of being decimated by extreme weather events including numerous punishing cyclones, storm and even tidal surges.

More than three-quarters of the ice on many mountains of East Africa have already melted including that from Mount Kilimanjaro. Uganda's Ruwenzori Mountain glaciers have atrophied to less than half their former size and could be gone by 2025. This cannot be good news if you rely wholesale on hydropower for primary electricity generation as Uganda does. Next colossal problem, as average temperature creeps up over time, malaria, tick-borne diseases, other pests, mould and more expand their range into other newly-warmed areas affecting even hardy crops like bananas. Biotech manures used as organic fertilizer has led to improvement in crop yields and soil fertility. This also eliminates the release of volatile organic compounds into the air that arises from nitrogen-rich chemical fertilizers. However, some dispute cutting back use of certain chemical fertilizers they claim are needed to boost the productivity of soils that have become depleted of nutrients. Regardless, maize, wheat, cassava, soya beans, millet, sorghum, rice, barley, bananas and coffee are vulnerable to erratic rainfall patterns and increased heat or humidity. The two degree Celsius global temperature increase limit agreed upon at least as an aspiration by many major economies would still be warm enough to wipe-out coffee growing here. Perhaps cassava, maize, barley and wheat would also wilt in the absence of heat or drought-resistant strains.

The potential threat to food supply is becoming increasingly serious as global average temperature ratchets up relentlessly and insidiously as time goes by. Farmers are taken aback by the unusual, ongoing temperature increases and alteration of rainfall patterns. More fruit and other produce rots in the fields due to relentless heat or becomes overripe before its ready to be eaten. More drought-resistant grains such as millet and sorghum are expected to be sowed increasingly in future as more and more crops like maize and wheat wither in one heat wave or the next. Less water intensive crops will be needed as current expectations are for the overall amount of rainfall to decrease by a further 25% before mid-century. Also, root crops including yams, arrow root and sweet potatoes are apt to better-survive oppressive heat, drought, wind abrasion and proliferation of pests. The expanding number of grasshoppers and armyworms is potentially a very problematic situation affecting Uganda.

Uganda also needs to treat sewage, reduce fecal matter water pollution in cities and minimize influx of nitrates, phosphates and metals from agricultural and industrial sources. Next in the chain of events, especially noticeable at certain times of the year, we get chronic algal blooms and algae infestation, thereby resulting in eutrophication of Lake Victoria. Toxic cyanobacteria has been found in the water which is worrisome. An amalgam of floating, swirling hyacinth weeds topped with hippo grass is choking the lake and providing snakes and mosquitoes with more places to live and breed. Overuse of the water supply and overfishing by tens of millions of people is also shrinking the lake and people are experiencing drastic reductions in catches relative to just a few years ago. Nile perch stocks in the lake are just 20% the level of a decade ago. Vast marshy, swampy areas have dried up over the past generation or been under siege from the development pressure exerted by a booming population. Other lakes, wetlands and rivers in Uganda have also been contracting in size and volume of water flow. Nature's water filtering, habitat, carbon sequestration and weather buffering have been atrophied.

Over the past generation, Uganda has lost an estimated half its forested areas as a result of land use changes, cutting down trees for fuel wood and charcoal production, soil erosion and more. The overwhelming majority of people have relied on trees as an energy supply service so its unsurprising that, given this prevailing mentality, only 10% of the country now has forest. This poses a potentially-disastrous situation ecologically. An aggressive tree-replanting program is expected to help begin rolling back the depleted state of Uganda's natural resources.

Unrealistic population growth pressures available infrastructure and natural resources further, for example, in Uganda where the fertility rate in women is nearly seven children each and population growth per year is beyond the 3% mark.

 A recent government advisory said almost all water from springs in Kampala was contaminated with animal or human feces. Our understanding is most garbage never makes it to a landfill or recycling facility, either. If only about 10% of raw sewage from Kampala is being treated because only about that proportion of residents have access to the sewer system, clearly the problem cannot be surprising. The wide use of pit latrines and polythene plastic poop bags in various countries including Uganda by those without access to sanitary facilities is our failure collectively. Any flooding in such a setting inevitably results in spreading of raw sewage, unsanitary conditions and disease, compounding the costs and suffering arising from that failure.

Municipal waste composting and biogas siphoning for use can only represent an improvement of conditions in Uganda. Superimposed on top of the solid waste predicament is pollution arising from untreated industrial waste being dumped indiscriminately. Pollutants range from chromium, oil and sulphur to various textile and tannery chemicals, pigments and dyes. Inevitably, the smorgasbord of toxins introduced in to the natural environment reappear some time later in water and locally-produced food. Precious ground, river and lake water thereby suffers the next leg-down in contamination reducing healthy drinking water availability ever-more.

In various countries, authorities have become aware of the practice of reckless dumping of dangerous industrial chemicals, pesticides and residues including spent charcoal dust into waterways. The charcoal business is a cancer that is hard to stop the spread of. Zambia and lately also Tanzania have been encountering problems from mining-related effluent such as acid rain and acid mine drainage. Zambia has pockets of extreme soil contamination from cadmium, zinc and especially lead which is present in people's blood way beyond safe levels, for example, in Kabwe. Tanzania apparently has legions of small-scale miners trying to extract minerals using mercury at great personal risk. They also have many large mining operations. Mining is a loosely-regulated industry here and there are questions arising about where toxic waste being generated is ending up. Especially in and near Dar es Salaam, some vegetables are appearing that are contaminated with heavy metals. Acid mine drainage and uncontrolled releases of volatile organic compounds and other industrial effluents are often discharged directly into waterways. Added to this list of contaminants are various agricultural chemicals. Zambia and Mozambique should become serious about hissing and dissing tobacco plots and plantations such as has occurred in Tanzania to a significant degree already. On the exciting news front, that's exactly what has been happening: old tobacco plantations are being replaced with jatropha shrubs which can grow even on marginal land and produce oil for biodiesel fuel. Tanzania has also put an end to mumblings from one-off, thin-film polyethylene bag salesmen: They have outlawed their non-biodegradable product and along with it goes the cadmium and other noxious metal and petrochemical content included in the manufacturing make-up of such bags.

Not only the people, but also organisms in the near-shore marine environment are being threatened by pollution, rising acidity and warming. Clean water and adequate sanitation do not yet exist for about one-third of rural Tanzanians and as such, water-born diseases of various kinds remain a threat for millions of people. Kenya's industrial, agricultural and urban waste problems are acute, too. Pesticides long-banned in other countries are still being used in Kenya and have been implicated in deaths of species from hippopotamuses to lions to vultures. Nairobi is polluted with various discharges that have become especially acute in slum areas of the city. The Nairobi River has been severely-polluted, yet punishment of industrial and residential offenders to date has not been effective as a deterrent. Especially in rural areas, many people have to cover long distances every day to retrieve water, perhaps dirty water.

Some Kenyans are toying with use of bio-latrines whereby human ends enter an airtight biodigester. Microbes work to produce methane gas that is siphoned off for use as a cooking or heating fuel, to generate electricity or to produce fertilizer. We think the recently developed use of the jatropha plant to produce clean biofuel without supplanting land area used for food production has potential for cultivation in many countries. One problem could be a lack of water, however, because jatropha is one of the least water-efficient bioenergy crops. Perhaps a more water-frugal strain of jatropha shrub can be developed than jatropha curcas. We know people are working on genetic variations of jatropha in the USA and probably in several other countries, too.

Currently about three-quarters of Kenyans still rely on charcoal for energy which is clearly unsustainable and results in wide-scale deforestation in areas such as the Aberdare and Cherangani. There has been drastic loss of the Mau Forest, a huge catchment area for vital water sources including Lake Victoria. Lake Naivasha is less than half its former surface area and is on the verge of ecological collapse. Lake Nakuru is a piddling puddle compared to the way it was yesteryear. Kenya's forest cover is now less than 2% and rivers are drying up. Rivers have become streams; streams have become seasonal or have been reduced to streamlets. Unfortunately, this affects hydropower output which Kenyans have relied on to generate the majority of their grid electricity.

This troubling situation has prompted decisive action to seek development of much more renewable energy from wind, solar, geothermal and biomass sources in lieu of hydroelectric power and fossil fuel energy sources. In the short to intermediate term, wind will supply a significant share of grid power in Kenya and Tanzania. Kenya has a feed-in tariff scheme to encourage adoption of more renewable energy beyond hydropower. Kenya and other East African countries are also focusing more on developing their natural geothermal energy potential. Bagasse cogeneration projects can produce heat and electrical energy from sugar cane waste. Such initiatives eventually should provide very significant renewable power from various locations along the Great Rift Valley, from Mozambique to Djibouti. Plans also now exist in Uganda and Kenya to plant tens of millions of trees and their are renewed efforts to enforce logging bans. Kenya is pumping significant funds into a grassroots reforestation program imploring each citizen to plant about one tree a month.

Unfortunately, as crop productivity declines and population growth proceeds, there is pressure to cut down more trees to add more land area for agriculture. During less than a century, Kenya may go from about seven hectares of land per person to less than one-half hectare, approximately one-fifteenth the area available per capita in a span of just three generations. We also wonder where many Wildebeest have gone. Some 25% have vanished inside of 10 years. Oryx and other antelope have also been on-the-run into oblivion. Ditto for cheetahs and rhinoceroses. Lions could be next.

Tanzania is starting to use sweet sorghum stalks to produce ethanol via fermentation and distillation. Hopefully this can help replace high-sulphur fuel grades. Tobacco farmers in Tanzania are bailing out of that rotten business in large numbers and substituting other much more promising crops like seeds, nuts and fruit trees. Increasingly, kerosene, charcoal, leaves and paraffin use in the home is being replaced by the promise of the sun including solar panels, stand-alone solar cookers, stoves and lights. There are also full-blown solar power system kits to run appliances, hot water heaters, mobile phones and more. This is a transition to get fired-up about, and the faster it can take-hold the better off we are all going to be.

In Mozambique, unconstrained deforestation also fuels a charcoal subsistence economy. This country is also victimized by the spread of barren, unproductive land. Mozambique may in future run into serious problems trying to feed its population as the productivity of several existing staple food crops is expected to decline as temperatures overall continue to rise. In fact, large parts of southern Africa could be affected negatively by the current widespread reliance on climate-sensitive maize. Rainfall in East Africa has been declining by about 15% per generation for quite some time now and this trend is expected to continue or worsen as the planet heats up. Ominously, the temperature in highland areas has risen at a rate of about 0.1 degrees Celsius per decade for at least two generations. Many diseases such as malaria and cholera spread as more frequent heavy rainfall and flash flooding muddy waters. If already present, malaria-parasite ridden mosquitoes tend to multiply in hot, humid settings. Further, the threat of global sea level increases, storm surges, flooding and heat waves finds Mombasa, Dar-es-Salaam and Maputo in precarious positions and vulnerable to further contamination of water supply.

Botswana and Namibia have acute problems from overgrazing, significant soil erosion, uncontrolled or weakly-controlled exploitation of natural resources, in particular, minerals and other ecosystem degradation. There is limited fresh water supply in Botswana and Namibia as parched savannah land area increases and desertification advances. Namibia enshrines environmental protection in their constitution and about one-sixth of Namibia is conservation area so hope is alive here.

Zimbabwe has serious problems from mining waste, pesticides and raw sewage that ends up in waters such as the Manyame River. Zimbabwe is under pressure from ongoing threats of further deforestation, from food, water and power shortages and from spread of disease, in particular, cholera. One-quarter of forested areas have been lost in only one generation of time. Zimbabwe has been trying to encourage widespread cultivation of the jatropha weed shrub as a biofuel and fertilizer since it does not compete with food crops for arable land and may be inter-planted with other crops and in quite arid areas. Unfortunately, due to their financial meltdown, the country appears to be regressing to further use of coal power. As we've tried to do using a megaphone here, coal is NOT cheap once you factor in payments made sooner or later for societal costs. The world will find a way to punish polluters regardless of whether Zimbabwe does or not. It's coming. So never mind how hard it is; you're better off as a country to stick with hydropower and develop solar, wind, biofuel and geothermal sources of energy.

In Philippines, as sewage and the remains of decayed and degraded coral reefs spread, beach sand is becoming more gray than white, not so pretty a picture. The Meycauayan-Marilao River system is very polluted due to domestic waste loads and proliferation of manufacturing activity within easy reach of a river dump. Illegal small-time miners often dump waste directly into waterways. There has been high levels of mercury affecting the fishery and shellfish. The Pasig River is nearly dead ecologically due mostly to industrial effluent, unchecked residential garbage and sewage influx from the greater Manila area. A toxic, lifeless dark gray mud and ooze spreads. The Guadalupe and Butuanon Rivers have been declared biologically-dead for many years but moves are afoot now to attempt  rehabilitation. The hideous practice of getting rid of even toxic industrial and/or agricultural waste by adding it to fertilizer has only "hit the fan" with government officials during 2010. Changes are coming affecting river clean-up and agricultural practices but, unfortunately, heavy ecological, human health and wellness costs have already been endured.

Philippines is one of the most vulnerable large countries on Earth to inundation and chaos arising either from global-warming-induced transgression of the ocean or from tsunami. There are millions of people at risk of flooding in the greater Manila area alone. So Filipinos are very much in need of natural defenses and barriers such as mangrove ecosystems. Regrettably, Philippines have only about one-quarter of their mangrove forests and swamps left. Nearly one in six bird species indigenous to Philippines are endangered due mainly to loss of habitat such as wetlands. This critical habitat also serves as rest stops and feeding places for countless migratory bird species en route to faraway places although their numbers have been plummeting over the years as land use is altered and habitat eliminated by various developers and landowners.

We think 50% Filipino population growth in less than 20 years is way too much. Philippines now has a population density of over 2000 people per square kilometer. We don't mince words about it. We believe ecological survivability of the Earth without extreme poverty or various health and wellness afflictions is around 4.8 billion people. Yet, we already have a total population of about 6.7 billion, and its expected to mushroom further to some 9 billion by mid-century. People collectively now consume one-quarter more resources per person than the Earth can support, recoup or replace. We're saying there should be an average maximum of about 300 people per square kilometer of arable land. Holding the economic development variable constant for the purposes of this thought experiment, we think people population pressure crowds out other species as ecosystems are encroached on, developed, polluted or harvested for resources. Something has to be done to curtail the excessive rate of forest loss they have experienced.

Philippines relies on coal for about 22% of their electricity generation. They hope to cut that amount back to 10% to 15% of the power grid before 2015 as alternative energy sources become more prevalent. Philippines may be lauded for already having around 18% of their power needs including over one-quarter of electricity generation coming from geothermal sources, and they are pressing for more, to double gigawatt capacity from renewable sources by 2020. Philippines is also the largest seaweed farmer and processor which produces ethanol. However, they have made little progress in harnessing wind and solar power potential that exists in their country. Permitting an unabated coal-driven power plant in Iloilo strikes us as bizarre, especially so given that this City has experienced first-hand the major havoc deliverable by typhoons.

The emphasis in Thailand seems to be on educating the public to conserve energy and cut back consumption. Hopefully in the short term, that will save Thailand about one-fifth of its energy use. Pollution levels per person in Thailand are high compared to many neighboring countries. They have designed a good starting point for a pollution tax lately. However, it so far does not include among its pollutants either carbon dioxide or black carbon. Rather, it encompasses nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide and dust tonnages vented into the air. Wastewater discharges are also penalized by weight of the content of suspended junk material or biochemical oxygen demand. Unfortunately, many people habitually dump their untreated wastewater directly into waterways. This practice has bio-accumulated to the point where rivers including the Chao Phya, Bang Pakong and many more are scheduled to be cleaned-up. This is good news because the moral majority of Thai citizens care about the natural environment they live in and many tourists are becoming "turned off" by it.

The air of Chiang Mai and other cities in northern Thailand are so fouled with smoke and exhaust it fails to clear. Government have resorted to trying to geo-engineer raining in the north of the country to force cleansing of the shroud of pollution. There exists a plague of respiratory illnesses from smog caused in large part by wide-scale agricultural burning activity. Smoke also drifts in to Hat Yai and other centers in Thailand from Indonesia. Air quality in congested areas including Bangkok is very iffy due to elevated levels of submicron-sized particulates and noxious pollutants notably from old diesel and two-stroke engines.

Industrial sources have been discharging toxins into rivers and the air illegally. For example, those living in proximity to heavily industrialized areas, namely Map Ta Phut, the incidence of cancer has been found to be abnormally high, and this  sadly has been the case for too many people in Rayong. Air pollution includes sickening levels of volatile organic compounds and heavy metal particles though this mayhem will be cleaned-up during 2010 according to the government.

The availability of 20% ethanol gasoline blends and 5% biofuel content in diesel helps in principle but only assuming the net carbon impact is positive after consideration of related deforestation. Unfortunately, recent evidence is calling into question the wisdom of clearing anything other than marginal land where cellulosic ethanol sources may be planted. Otherwise, there is no net gain for the environment in terms of net carbon emissions. And many more people are going hungry in the world as a consequence of fuel crops displacing food crops on various agricultural lands contributing to food inflation as a result of incrementally reduced supply.

Proliferation of palm oil plantations to produce biodiesel and pollution emanating from shrimp ponds are affecting mangrove swamps. It is estimated up to half of Thailand's mangroves are gone already, resulting in reductions in the prevalence of species native to mangrove ecosystems and serious erosion of coastal areas. An estimated one-third of coral reefs in the Andaman Sea have been lost over the past generation as algae detaches from host reefs due to the combined impact of increased sea temperature and acidity. Along with the loss of biodiversity and more tourism revenue goes the first natural line of defense from storm surge and the inexorable rise in global sea level.

Authorities in Thailand are forecasting a rise of sea level affecting them of about one-third of a meter before 2020, a rate that translates to three to four meters per century if it were to continue on that way. To multiply the threat, for more than a generation, abnormally-heavy monsoon rains have been observed. If the cause is climate change as is increasingly being suspected, the associated risks are apparently ones Thai people will have to adapt to. Bangkok is generally only about a meter or two above sea level and is subsiding by about one-tenth of a meter per year. Subsidence is not a linear process so, ceteris paribus, there is no reason to expect the rate of subsidence to remain nearly constant. Yikes! To us, Bangkok rates as one of the most vulnerable cities on Earth to global warming. Belatedly, some Thai people have become wary and are frantically trying to restore lost wetlands before their situation versus Mother Nature deteriorates the next leg down.

Brunei's timber areas, peat bogs and other wetlands generally have been well-managed, preserved and reforested. However, open burning persists partly due to lax enforcement of environmental offences. The country is still almost entirely-dependent on oil and gas extraction, refining and processing industries for both domestic energy and export earnings. Brunei is belatedly turning to solar photovoltaic power to help the country get-off using noxious fuels such as diesel sooner rather than later.

These countries remain all almost-entirely dependent on fossil fuels for energy. So this is not a healthy situation especially given other stressors such as chronic water shortages. For these countries, we have some advice: Don't despair because you know of those who may have succeeded in the oil business in North Africa and the Middle East yet your family remains very poor: Now there is "Desertec", a proposal of the German Aerospace Center for generating and transmitting solar power into Europe from North Africa. The solar power cat is out of the bag now but still has to watch out for the odd fossil fuel attack dog. We hope the solar power drive will spread solar thermal throughout the Sahara, Mojave, Gobi, Badain Jaran, Kalahari, Atacama, Simpson, Garagum, Great Thar and Arabian deserts, too. We call it "Desert Sun". So reopen and expand your salt mines young man for, quite suddenly, a mixture of various nitrates including sodium and potassium nitrates and heat are among your most prized assets! But the sun sets so is an intermittent power source. Therefore, the plan is to deploy tanks of molten salts like liquid sodium and potassium nitrate to store heat at night for perhaps several hours before the energy is utilized to generate steam, drive turbines, generate and transmit electricity over large distances. Furthermore, that molten salt may prove to be the breakthrough ionic fluid medium that can more efficiently produce cellulosic source material into ethanol, leaving a much reduced waste stream in the process. Concentrating solar thermal uses equipment like turbines, water and other fluid pipes, transmission lines, parabolic mirrors and other mirrors and lenses. Air-cooled mirrors are plausible if use of water becomes difficult. Further, waste heat from concentrated solar thermal power generation can be utilized to desalinate marine water locally. Despite the wind and dust, concentrating solar energy infrastructure utilizing mirrors focusing on photovoltaic panels is also possible in these settings.

Algeria has commenced solar thermal projects already. Libya is subject to dust storms which may hamper but not eliminate any concerted effort to go solar. We wish Jordan would join with North African countries here in the rush to develop solar energy. Jordan has been aiming at having its carbon-intensive, kerosene-laden oil shale deposits developed. This is not a good idea. Amman's air quality is already poor and a wholesale reliance on fossil fuels is mostly to blame. On the water front, the vital Jordan River has been losing flow volume at an astonishing average rate of nearly 1% per year.

Iraq has significant chemically-depleted and salty soil, soil erosion plus degradation of marshland ecosystems. The added dryness has resulted in further desertification of once-useful land. Powder-like dust  is pervasive. Water has historically been a defining issue here. Unfortunately, the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers in Iraq have been running at about-half the former volume and the outlook concerning any rejuvenation is uncertain. The state of the Shatt al Arab River is also problematic.

There is too much flaring of associated gas in Algeria, Libya and Iraq. Stopping this should be an easy way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions totals and increase ecological responsibility and survivability.

Israel aims by 2020 to have 10% or more of its energy use come from alternatives to fossil fuels. Use of solar power is already widespread in Israel. Development of highly-efficient solar dishes to capture concentrated photovoltaic energy is very promising. Israel now has plans to utilize solar power to supplant some fossil fuel use. A feed-in tariff structure has been introduced to promote small-scale solar panel installations. However, two-thirds of Israel's electricity is still produced by coal-fired facilities. There has also been a problem with too much ground level ozone in more congested areas, especially in larger centers like Tel Aviv.

Israel could become the first country to have large numbers of electric cars on the road. Numerous charging stations have already been built and many more are planned. However, to the extent the electric grid is fossil-fuel driven, the release of emissions will merely be passed up the line.

Waterways in all these countries may as well have been open sewers for mining, metallurgical, chemical and other old industries spewing noxious smoke, effluents and other waste. Acid rain, toxic tailings and acid mine drainage issues have not been resolved. Air pollution is bad in many cities and industrial areas like Bratislava, Slovakia and Koper, Slovenia. A good start would be to drive-down-and-out coal, particularly the soft (bituminous) coal and brown coal (lignite) industry.

Greece is a high-potential market for wind and solar power applications. Solar thermal implementation has already taken off. The distinct possibility exists that a transition to much greater use of renewable energy will occur relatively quickly. A city such as Thessaloniki, Greece is prime territory for capitalizing on renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, tidal or wave power. Instead, the air has been badly-polluted with things like nickel, cadmium, arsenic, pesticide residues and a lot more. Mass transit is poorly developed, a major contributing factor to the crush of vehicles clogging many streets. Greece also appears to be in a bit of a time warp in that they still send so much waste to massive, slowly-decomposing landfill sites instead of recycling and re-using it.

In Ireland, by now we are sure they know the drill - less crowing and more rowing in less polluted rivers. Ireland now has a low-ball introductory rate carbon tax on fuel. They currently derive about one-sixth of power needs from renewable sources, in particular, from wind turbines. The government wants to ramp that share up to 40% of grid-electricity by 2020. We think Ireland has the setting and mindset to quickly become a green financial services center. Your typical graying bank has too many weirdo-competitor-type employees getting in the way of change or infringing on others because they are incapable of originating much themselves. In Ireland, they do not have that rather-pervasive phenomenon to weigh them down. To us, this spells opportunity because they're working from a clean slate, in an uncluttered environment, and within the Euro zone. Once the powers-that-be recognize the light is green, it's time to move it with clean, green investments and growth, the transition could happen very fast because the potential is there. Embrace change, don't try to hide from it. Ultimately, there's nowhere to hide from Mother Nature, and, in our humble opinion, she's a green investor.

The needle on renewable sources of energy has not budged much in Luxembourg. Their per capita carbon footprint has historically been among the highest anywhere. San Marino's agricultural activities contribute significant per capita emissions of heat-trapping gases including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.

The vast majority of land in The Bahamas is at an elevation less than two meters above sea level so the risk of inundation is worrisome here given their location and vulnerability to extreme weather events. Amazingly, they continue to commission more power plants that run on horrendous, murky bunker fuel. Rather, they need to ramp up broad utilization of renewable energy to reduce dependence on burning fossil fuels, in particular, the molasses-style stuff. Domestic production of biodiesel constitutes a starting point. 

Jamaica's emissions have been somewhat high on a per capita basis relative to other island economies and deforestation has run amok. So far, Jamaica has only about 6% of electricity arising from renewable energy sources. This amount will likely increase markedly in the years to come with the advent of wind power farms, waste-to-energy plants and biodiesel projects. We strongly suggest Jamaican industry not use coal anymore to fuel their operations. Furthermore, poorly-treated sewage, industrial waste discharges and vehicle emissions have been weighing the country down. Nitrate contamination of water has been significant. So now is the time to stage an ecological turnaround domestically. Waterfront, beaches, coral reefs and the fishery have been degraded significantly over the years due to the global phenomena of marine beach erosion, salt incursion, overfishing and increased ocean acidity.

Antigua and Barbuda is mostly low lying limestone terrain. Deforestation has occurred to the point where fresh water retention near and at the surface has become an issue. Offshore there are lots of coral reef ecosystems that have been deteriorating in a worrisome way. Historically, carbon intensity has been relatively high here so more efficient work and a general cleaning-up of combustibles is needed. Simply aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020 is insufficiently-ambitious.

Sri Lanka has left only about one-sixth of its primeval forest cover. They have various problems with industrial effluents, sewage and groundwater contamination. Kidney ailments have become widespread. Dengue and rat fever, hepatitis and more abound near various garbage dumps. In Sedawatte near Colombo, a public hygiene disaster scene hangs like an albatross around the necks of residents. On the bright side, over 100,000 home-based solar systems have already been put in place throughout Sri Lanka. And counting. Renewable energy sources comprise only about 4% of energy use, however, they aim for a 10% share by 2017.

We now know that methane concentrations in the atmosphere have increased globally since sometime during 2006. This news is very unwelcome and potentially alarming as methane is about 23 times as powerful a heat-trapping gas as carbon dioxide. Further, so far scientists do not appear to have a comprehensive answer as to why methane is again on the increase. The problem in Argentina is that somewhere between one-quarter and one-third of Argentina's total greenhouse gas emissions come from methane produced by livestock, especially cows. Argentina has about 50 million grazing ungulates and is a huge beef producer. Their cattle eat a lot of grass but that diet, as do the usual other cow diets observed across many countries, unfortunately generates a huge amount of methane belching. Further, there exists high levels of nitrous oxide originating from their extensive farmland areas, to the point where the surrounding air may become hazy and humidity and rainfall may be laced with corrosive concentrations of nitric acid. Arsenic in the soil in some regions presents another environmental challenge, affecting water quality, health and wellness.

At the beginning of the millennium, Argentina was approaching being half-and-half dependent on fossil fuel and hydropower sources for electricity generation, with a smattering of nuclear energy. However, there existed the long-term problem of relying too much on hydropower as the massive Cuyo ice sheets of western Argentina have been melting at unprecedented rates. Argentina has apparently filled in the shortfall in hydropower output with more fossil fuel driven grid-energy. Ten years on in 2010, they have become half-dependent on natural gas and about one-third more on oil to drive their electrical needs. There are a lot of vehicles on the streets running on compressed natural gas which helps people get-off from using heavier fossil fuels. Natural gas is generally viewed as a bridge fuel to the future whereupon electric, fuel cell and hybrid cars, trucks and buses are expected to be in widespread use around the world.

Unfortunately, Argentina is also set to augment coal power to nearly 5% of their requirements in an age where people are trying to rid the coal monkey from their backs. Gearing up coal use in Argentina will produce liquid waste often containing contaminants including but not limited to chromium, ammonia, arsenic, aluminum, barium and mercury. Coal ash and solid waste here is apt to have radioactive elements like uranium and thorium. There also exists a troublesome situation environmentally in Rosario. The concentration of pollutants from industrial effluent, metals, chemicals and pesticides discharged or swept into waterways has reached a level such that much water there is not safe to drink.

Argentina apparently was the first country to require that companies operating there have insurance sufficient to cover the potential liability arising from significant possible and actual environmental risks and hazards associated with their activities. But, surprisingly, they have lagged in other critical areas. Argentina is mandating a very modest 8% share for renewable energy sources before 2016. Not the stuff to write home to Mom-sy about. Coastal cities such as Buenos Aires, La Plata and Mar del Plata are clearly vulnerable to the ongoing rise of global sea level.

Any scheme to convert lignite coal to urea fertilizer on a large scale these days is a bad one - it will result in outsize amounts of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and nitrogen-runoff pollution. At first we thought New Zealand's farm story might be one for kiddies comic books or Uncle John's Bathroom Readers' Institute™ but we have changed our minds. Farm animals worldwide originate almost one-fifth of atmospheric greenhouse gases. New Zealand has some 50 million herd animals raised for meat, wool and dairy products and about half of its greenhouse gas emissions stem from agricultural sources. There is about ten sheep per person living in this country. In the aggregate, that amounts to gale force breathing, belching, bloating and flatulence of methane and nitrous oxide, both of which are much more potent heat-trapping gases than carbon dioxide. Not to mention what emanates from the animal urine and excrement into the air. Coriander seeds, turmeric, cumin, urea-molasses mineral blends, fish oil, canola oil and/or cottonseed oil given as dietary supplements to ruminant livestock including cows, goats and sheep have all been shown to significantly reduce the amount of out-gassing of this blue air. Adding seaweed, flaxseeds, alfalfa or certain grasses to ruminant animal feed also reduces belching. Nitrous oxide, contained in chemical fertilizers often used to increase the yield of primary crops like sugar cane, rice, wheat or maize, emanates from the soil into the atmosphere where it becomes a potent heat-trapping gas. Unfortunately, this agricultural complex along with the proliferation of vehicles means rainfall may be laced with unpleasant and corrosive, degrading or debilitating concentrations of nitric acid. Time to put a price on this problem because Mother Nature does not grant exemptions or special privileges to favored sectors or particular economic actors.

Furthermore, when various farm and ranch waste nutrients and agricultural chemicals end up downstream at the coast, the result in certain areas is the serious problem of oxygen-depleted dead zones. Many fish and shellfish cannot survive in marine water with minimal oxygen. Hold the phone, though, there could be a happy ending here. Their may be a jim dandy of a scheme to promote growth of easily-digestible seaweed to feed ruminants as a staple of their diet so they produce less methane. Greater proliferation of seaweed on the continental shelf area would also help to incrementally-reduce oceanic dead zones because seaweed naturally absorbs nitrogen and phosphorous as nutrients.

These CIS nations have experienced deteriorating agricultural productivity for several years. Added to that is widespread soil contamination that still exists from various Soviet-era nuclear waste products that were discharged directly into the natural environment with the hope same would go away. Application of too much fertilizer, pesticides and agricultural chemicals have also burnt the soil from the acid content. So aside from an ever-present imperative for more clean water to use, what is really needed is a period of time where fallow, organic or vegan farming can help the land recover. Meanwhile, they could focus much more on energy conservation and improving the appalling energy inefficiency of various industries.

Kazakhstan joined the Kyoto Protocol recently with an objective to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1992 levels by 2012. They also have a commitment for 2020 to reduce these emissions by 15%. In many ways, they have been living well-within the bounds of ecological survivability naturally-possible in their country. We think an environmental turnaround is in the offing in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. To achieve it, burning and smoldering fires set on agricultural lands will have to be curtailed sharply. Learn how to make and use biochar instead if you think carbon helps your soil. Stop the reckless, polluting and wasteful flaring of gas in Kazakhstan.

Too much fertilizer, pesticide and salt have burnt the landscape in Uzbekistan contributing to desertification and deterioration of soil and vegetation. Old world industrial pollution adds to their earthly woes.

Kyrgyzstan has already lost more than half its native forests and more than half of its mountain glaciers. Those fresh water stores have been vanishing at a rate of about 10% per generation for more than half a century. Historically, this country has been a significant source of mercury mines. Before long, they may be the only country left still hawking the stuff to unrepentant miners and others, too. Kyrgyzstan also has many historic radioactive sites throughout the country. Rivers and aquifers near such sites are generally contaminated, for example, the Mailuu-Suu River. Further, chemical contamination has inadvertently been redistributed widely into the soil by the wind and overuse of pesticides when farming. Many producers who pollute are government controlled, crown corporations, oligopolists or old, out-of-date companies that had close ties to some government. The need for new laws and regulations to redress pollution, industrial waste and inefficiencies has been recognized by various authorities but change may be slowed, resisted or impeded by bureaucracies and cronies associated with old Soviet-style entities until such time as new technologies, concepts and competitors spur adjustments. Of course, there is a learning curve for the population to adopt new attitudes concerning the need for energy efficiency and conservation.

Within a generation, Colombia's glaciers are likely to have melted completely. Along with it, most of their alpine grasslands are expected to capitulate due to lack of water. Colombia also has significant uncontrolled deforestation and land-clearing including that done by drug dregs planting coca shrubs in remote areas including national parks. Coastal cities such as Cartagena and Barranquilla are on the front lines facing global sea level escalation. The progression goes like this: First we have historic, coastal mangrove forests that act as natural buffers against storm activity and encroaching seas. As the pressure from transgression increases relentlessly, the forests capitulate increasingly to a salt marsh environment, then a kind of soupy swampland. Finally, draining of the bog area cannot keep pace and inundation occurs. Permanent flooding has claimed more coastal area angering titleholders who lose their property to the ocean. In aggregate terms, tourists are not all that impressed by this sequence of events either as word gets around about lost beaches, foreshore area and so on. 

Ecuador appears to be first to recognize in legal terms the rights ecosystems, including all organisms, have to exist and evolve without being assaulted by undue external forces, namely people and organizations. We like this development as it makes it much easier for the general public to take legal action against polluters so a judicial remedy is more easily and quickly available if politicians, governments and regulators fail to provide the necessary environmental protection. Unfortunately, Ecuador has been guilty of having one of the highest deforestation rates in the world. It has also had serious problems with industrial polluters, in particular, those that have caused water pollution, soil contamination and calamity for animal and plant life over a broad region as a result of careless oil and gas production activities in the Amazon. The wisdom of developing, and extent to which Ecuador can successfully develop, hydropower remain open questions.

Peru is doing relatively well on the deforestation front - they have the fourth largest tropical rainforest on Earth and about 60% of the original rainforest area is still there. Peru could conceivably achieve zero net deforestation by 2020 which is very promising if it holds true. However, Peru and Ecuador have prepared or started-in on opening up elephantine areas in the Amazon for oil and gas exploration and development. This is potentially a double whammy. One for the associated deforestation; we will also be in-line for the burning of more fossil fuels if hydrocarbon production proceeds here. Further, various indigenous hunting and gathering tribes in the Amazon are being threatened and squeezed out by voracious resource developers. Peru has been getting help regarding exactly how to regulate and manage the trade-off involved with further resource development. Peru now has "ecological police" that conduct raids on homes, businesses and plants regarding harboring of mine tailings and other hazardous materials.

Peru has begun the transition to wind, solar and biomass energy to help power its electric grid. Fear is likely a prominent factor driving change here: In Peru, one quarter of their Andean glaciers have melted in less than a generation. Some say it's conceivable all Andean glaciers will be gone by 2023. Peru's carbon emissions are not problematic, at least not yet, as hydropower accounts for more than three-quarters of electricity-generating capacity. Hydropower production though is clearly a function of the volume of rainfall and glacier melt water available over time. Unfortunately, both sources are in decline at a time when population and industrial demands continue to rise. Andean mine operators, prodigious users of water in their mineral production and metal processing activities, are now sufficiently desperate for more water that they desalinate ocean water and pipe it far inland for use, a highly-inefficient practice. The environmental risks and reality of acid mine drainage into Peru's precious supplies of water are a problem, and potentially a huge problem. There are sorry instances of way-too-highly-concentrated levels of copper, lead, zinc and arsenic in soil, water, air, vegetation, animals and yes, people too, such as exists at the seriously-contaminated mining outpost of La Oroya. There also exists uncontrolled mercury pollution in the country from a wide range of gold miners.

Peru should have well-developed mass transit by now to reduce transportation-related pollution. Lima has high levels of particulates, dust and sulfates lingering in the air as polluted, dry-desert like conditions prevail.

In Yemen and Somalia there is widespread use of, interest in, and economic dependence on opium or qat. Especially in Somalia, there has also been much civil disobedience, clan rivalry, war-lording, violence and corruption that complicates and delays problem resolution. Institutions are often lacking. Somalia is really in a sorry state now with up to three million very hungry people desperate for help.

Yemen has legions of dilapidated vehicles that still fill up with leaded gasoline. The people of overpopulated Yemen generally do not know if its better to remain inland and face food and water-borne illnesses and insecticide pollution, or to head towards the coast and risk contact with vector-borne disease such as malaria. Organ failure is rife from contaminants and disease. Medically, kidney ailments are worsened by lack of water. The water table of Sanaa cannot replenish, in fact, its been dropping by up to 20 meters a year. So the city has little prospect of being able to meet the ongoing demands of its escalating population. Average life expectancy for all these countries is somewhere in the range of 45 to 60 years. Fresh water and arable land is also scarce in Djibouti. The ecology prevailing here cannot support the existing population.

Flood-prone Sudan has significant and expanding desertification and water shortages from decades of less rainfall supporting more and more people. Over the last generation, they have lost an estimated 10 million hectares of net forest area. Ancient wood-fuelled brick-making practices make a bad situation that much worse as woodlands are progressively stripped. In the absence of increased outside help, food inflation and scarcity has the potential to escalate into widespread social unrest, conflict and famine in either or all of these countries. Given the racial tensions and atrocities that have taken place in the Sudan, it cannot absorb any more stressors.

In Eritrea, deforestation, desertification and soil erosion is serious enough that it could end up like Sudan if they are not careful. As the specter of climate alteration unfolds and heat and water stresses are insidiously and relentlessly ratcheted up, the pastoralist way of life is increasingly coming under assault ecologically. In response, shepherds move their herds here and there ever-faster in search of viable water, shade and grazing areas.

Open up your hearts and wallets, this is a test of our collective humanity. And there have been thousands of heroic foreigners and local people, too whose solemn efforts, determination and courage in helping the afflicted in a setting of immense devastation have been dramatically-lessening the sadness and giving hope where little was once possible amid the rubble and ruin. They should get the Olympic medals of 2010. Those men and women helping on the ground there know we can't turn our cheek or click to the next channel and leave them this way. Without ongoing Olympian-great assistance, this country has only a faint hope of recovering from ecological, geological, socioeconomic, health and wellness mayhem.

Historically, deforestation has been out of control in Haiti. Today, only about 3% of forest cover remains. 3%! Couple that with hurricanes, other storm or tidal surges and perhaps heavy rainfall and we have a big problem. In Haiti, upland soil erosion and mass wasting flows have been ravaging consequences of deforestation. Gonaives has been swamped with mud too many times. Also we have problematic water pollution but air quality is generally much better than that of many countries. Let's face it - the atmosphere constitutes the upper hemisphere of our life-space. And tourists want to breathe clean air so Haiti is in good shape in this respect. The other big promise that can work in their favor in future is the advent of renewable energy. Haiti could "go to town" on their solar energy potential but they need more help to get going. 

Over the longer term, however, we are more hopeful. Very significant green stimulus measures should put more mustard on the transition away from grubby, carbon-rich fossil fuels. Their short term plan now involves utilizing 2% of their gross domestic product to spur investment in renewable energy and technologies including wind, solar, fuel cells and bio-fuels. They have a feed-in tariff system implemented to facilitate and encourage change. Strong growth in the application of solar photovoltaics, new age batteries and light-emitting diodes is anticipated for South Korea. They are already generating electricity from tidal power. Clean energy sources must drive nearly 5% of their power grid by 2015 and 10% of it before 2022. We do not embrace their plans to burn more wood which generates too much black carbon and other noxious pollutants. Just because your lighting some kind of biomass does not mean its a "clean, green" undertaking.

South Korea has also come up with tough new fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and small trucks to be implemented in 2012 over a four year period. Many petroleum-based diesel-powered vehicles have been deleted in Seoul lately especially in favor of compressed natural gas. This has already resulted in a drop of about 10% in the concentration of fine particulate air pollution. South Korea is also vulnerable to yellow dust storms and pollution lingering in the air. Much of this dust contains tiny particles of lead, cadmium, aluminum and copper and originates from northern China and Mongolian mining areas.